Investigating Phenomena
by Hilariter
Summary: After Watney's email from Mars, Beck investigates his feelings for Johanssen.
1. Prologue: Ask a Question

**Prologue: Ask a Question**

 _The Scientific Method: a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge._ Wikipedia

 _"You have to tell Johanssen how you feel. If you don't, you'll regret it forever."_

Beck looked up from the email he was reading in surprise.

He'd been waiting for this email with eagerness and trepidation. Martinez, Johanssen, and Vogel had gotten theirs from Watney, millions of mile behind them on Mars, and, without giving away too many details, had contained his usual blend of matter-of-fact realism and humor. No blame, no guilt, few regrets.

But now, having received his anticipated email from his good friend, he got this. What the hell was the man talking about? He didn't feel anything specific about Johanssen.

It was so like Watney, though. The whole email was focused on him, Beck, and making sure that Beck would be okay. Nothing about Watney's present difficulties or his physical stressors which must be severe and relevant to his present audience... Beck checked himself as he went into researcher mode. Watney was an extrovert and so this isolation must be killing him, and he was being forced to do strenuous physical labor in partial gravity and adjusted gases, without proper nutrition that would be making everything more difficult...and yet here he was focusing on Beck's non-existent love life. It was just so typical of Mark.

Beck shook himself from his reverie and reread the email in entirety. Beck and Johanssen?

 _A/N: All rights to Andy Weir and the people at 20th Century Fox. Please review, constructive criticism or just a note that you enjoyed it would be most helpful. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 1: Research the Question

**Research**

 _Present_

Beck slid down the ladder to the gym area. He needed to think and he'd think much better with something to occupy his muscles while trying to avoid losing himself in his medical journals and articles.

Johanssen was there on the treadmill, headphones in. As Beck walked past her, shooting her a small smile that she returned, he vaguely heard "Octopus's Garden" coming through. He smiled to himself at the odd choice in running music. Beck noticed her mileage: she was at 10 miles already.

Startled, he went back to the front and looked at her with a question. She nodded and pulled out one of her headphones. "Yeah?" she asked breathlessly.

Beck asked, "Training for something?"

Johanssen nodded. "Chicago Marathon."

"You're training for a marathon in space?" he asked incredulously.

She nodded, checking her heart rate.

"And you didn't tell me so I could write a case study?" Beck said, laughing.

"I'll be sure to get you all my training notes and impressions," Beth said, laughing back.

Beck said, "That's right in my neighborhood, anyway."

"I know," she said, her face unreadable.

Beck shrugged and said, "Have fun." Johanssen smiled and nodded, replacing her headphones. As he walked away, he thought, "She's always got something amazing in the works."

 _Cape Canaveral_

They'd been given a long weekends towards the end of launch training, a reprieve before their weeks-long quarantine. Beck had hopped a red-eye home to Minnesota to see his parents. His sister Amy had even driven in from Wisconsin to see him. They'd surprised him with a send-off party, attended by people he'd known since he was small, people he'd grown up with. There was even a "Come Home Safe" card signed by most of his high school class and teachers. Beck smiled to himself, fumbling with his keys. The earth could be so small.

Still he was glad to be back as he walked through the doors of the NASA astronaut quarters building. His suite of rooms wasn't quite as nice as his Houston apartment, but it felt home-like.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Beck paused in the entryway. Watney was bored and wanted to know if he was back yet. Beck smirked and replied and then, feeling like a teenager, texted his parents that he was home safe. He headed on towards his room to drop off his bag before Watney dragged him off to somewhere outlandish.

But he paused as he passed the entrance to the common space. Johanssen was curled up on a love seat by herself. She had her computer tablet on one end and her tablet of paper and a pen on her lap in the other. Beck shifted his bag on his shoulder with awkward hesistation before taking a few steps into the space. "Hey," he said quietly. She looked up, thankfully not alarmed. "You okay?"

"Yeah, no, fine," she said, leaning back into the arm of her chair. "Just get in?

He nodded. "Where did you end up going?"

"Keys," she said simply, looking up at Beck.

Beck was confused. "Keys?"

Just at that moment Watney came through the door, grinning wide and heading straight for Beck, clapping him on the back. "Hey man! How ya been?"

"Fine, fine." Beck was inexplicably, vaguely annoyed. "Family threw me a surprise send-off party."

"Nice! Hey Johanssen, want to come with for a welcome home gig? What are you up to, anyway?" Watney asked.

She laughed. "Planning my next vacation."

"What, on that?" Watney said derisively, pointing at her paper and pencil. "Isn't that a little 'Stone Age' for the great and mighty techno-wizard?"

"It'd be just about the right level for you to understand then, Watney," she shot back, smiling.

"Where are you going this time?" Beck interjected. "You just got back."

"Same place," Johanssen replied. "Florida Keys, the archipelago at the southern end of the peninsula."

As Beck nodded in recognition, Watney asked, "What all did you hit this weekend?"

"I rented a place on Key Largo," she said. "Leisurely drive down, went on a boat ride, found a beach for a while, headed back."

Watney plunked himself into an armchair next to her love seat. "Wow," he said drily, "that sounds fascinating. Why would you ever want to go back?" His smile belied the sarcasm.

Beck laughed and shook his head, setting down his bag and sitting in a chair opposite Watney.

Johanssen looked a little taken aback by the audience, but launched into her explanation. "It's one of the best places in the world." When Watney looked at her skeptically (clearly goading her, Beck thought), she continued indignantly, "It's so beauful down there! The water is crystal clear and shallow enough to be all shades of blue, from glacial to purples. There's a reef too, east of Key Largo and they made it an underwater national park. I went on a glass bottom boat trip and saw the fish and coral, colors bright as Crayola crayons! They get turtles sometimes too, and manatees! There was one hanging out in the harbor by my rental. I am definitely going back and taking the snorkelling trip. You two would probably love it," she said thoughtfully, looking at Beck. "Biology and botany, all mixed together. The mangroves they've got, they're just bizarre... And history!" Johanssen began again after a brief pause, not noticing Watney's growing grin and Beck's intense attention. "There's a fort off of Key West, that's the southernmost island and technically the southernmost point in the continental US, but anyway, Fort Jefferson was started before the Civil War to protect the entrance to the Gulf and all the big cities on the coast. It's made of brick and has huge guns still there, my hostess was telling me..."

"Alright, alright, enough already!" Watney said, laughing. "When are we going?"

Johanssen grinned. "Well, I figure once our families are sick of us again and we're through decontamination and debriefing, a week in the sun will be perfect."

Pulling her pad of paper towards him, Watney said, "Okay, where do we start?"

"I figure exploring north to south makes the most sense," Johanssen said, grabbing her tablet. "Here's what I have on Key Largo and Islamorada."

Looking over her list, Watney turned to Beck and said, "Well buddy, how do you feel about a "Key Lime Freeze"?

Beck looked at his friends and was very glad to be a part of this amazing, adventurous gang. "I'll try anything once!" he said, pulling his chair in closer.

 _A/N: Again, all rights to Andy Weir and all them movie-making people. Many thanks to warrior4 for his beta skills and expertise. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 2: Research the Question More

_Present_

Beck kept pedalling as Johanssen finished running and got off the treadmill. She gave him a small wave before beginning her climb out of the gym. He was working on 15 miles on the bike and figured he might as well make it 20.

He liked Johanssen, sure. She was cute in a tiny way, like a chipmunk. Beck smiled to himself, knowing how she'd react to being described as such. She was a force to be reckoned with when it came to computers and in her field there was no one better. He'd read up on her resume; her body of work was impressive.

From what he knew of her personally, she was fierce and determined. Taking on a marathon? In space? Wow. Beth was decidedly independent but he knew she had her weaknesses too.

 _Houston - Johnson Space Center_

Crew Selection Celebration. NASA probably had some fancy official title for the event on the invitations, but everyone knew that was the heart of it. The psychologists had wrapped up their evaluations, the trainers and directors had compared notes, the forms had all been stamped, and these six people were going to Mars.

Beck smiled ruefully looking around the room at his newly minted, super-official, media presented crewmates. He was sure they'd been as anxious as he getting the unbearably vague series of calls: approved candidate, potential Aries III crewmember, short list, and finally the life-changing call that simply said, "You're in."

Now, secrecy finally over at this media reveal event, they could finally party.

Watney came over to him, also dressed smartly in black tie. With his boyish face and mischievous eyes, he looked more like a high school senior at prom who had spiked the punch than a serious astronaut. "Have you seen the training schedule for the rest of the month?" he asked, tapping his flute of champagne against Beck's in greeting. "I'm going to need some serious coffee to get through the endless lectures and lab time. It's going to be enough to make me wish myself back to PT days. The vomit comet at least kept me awake."

Beck nodded, sipping his drink. "The specifics on the science experiments shouldn't be too bad. It's not like you've never watched plants grow, which must be like watching paint dry."

"I guess, but still... Whoa!" Watney stopped short. "Did she not get the memo?"

Beck followed his gaze across the room. Johanssen was waltzing with her father on the small dance floor. She was looking quite lovely, Beck noticed, in a long-sleeved, rather tight fitting dark green evening dress that set of her red-brown hair perfectly. "What's wrong with...?" he started, but Watney was already gone, stalking across the room towards her, picking up another champagne flute as he went. Beck sighed and followed him.

Beck had to hand it to Watney's timing; he arrived at the edge of the dance floor just as the music stopped and Mr. Johanssen escorted his daughter off the floor. Beck stood slightly behind and watched. Mr. Johanssen noticed Watney mock-scowling at his daughter and looked down at her, eyebrows raised. She looked at Watney then smiled back at her father and shook her head slightly, ruefully. His smile returned and he nodded, leaning down to kiss her forehead before turning away and walking back to his wife.

"Problem, Watney?" Johanssen asked.

He nodded, glaring at her. "Did you not get the memo about the after party?" She stared at Watney, uncomprehending, and looked back at Beck who shrugged. He had no idea what the man was talking about either. Watney continued, "How do you expect to get a tattoo if it would take a pair of Beck's trauma shears to get at your skin?"

Beck frowned at him. "What the hell are you talking about? And stay away from my shears!"

"We all agreed," he said with an exasperated grin. "We're all getting our Mars number as a tattoo for crew unity. Tonight is the best chance we've got, before they slowly kill us with boredom."

Johanssen's face went white for an instant then recovered just as quickly. "Who, exactly, decided this?"

"Well, Martinez suggested it and Vogel wasn't opposed..." he started.

"And I approved it," said Commander Lewis, smiling as she walked up to them. She put a hand on Johanssen's shoulder. "As your future commander, I order you to at least come with us, Johanssen. It'll be fun to see some of these characters faint when they see the needle coming at them." She grinned at Johanssen and the younger woman smiled faintly back. "Come on, Martinez has the car ready."

"Wait, what? We're going now?" Johanssen gulped.

"We sure are!" Watney smiled and grabbed her hand. "Lead on, fearless leader," he said to Lewis, "we've got her." He motioned to Beck and he put his hand gently on the small of Johanssen's back to push her gently forward.

"We're all going to fit in there?" he asked, looking at the 5-seat SUV Martinez had idling a millimeter away from the curb.

"Yep!" Martinez said cheerfully. "Pack 'em in. Just climb on top of the guys in the back, Johanssen, it's not far."

When she looked up at Beck, he shrugged again and said, "Make it work, I guess." So Johanssen threw her high heeled shoes in the trunk and climbed in after him, settling onto his lap as Vogel rather solemnly accepted her knees and feet stretched out over his.

As Martinez put his foot down and sped away, Johanssen quickly put her arm around Beck's shoulder and he automatically put an arm around her waist to keep her from sliding. Watney smirked at Beck from the other end of the bench seat and Beck glared back at him as Martinez shot around a corner at warp 8 and his arm saved Johanssen from slamming into the car door. She let out a small 'oof' and threw him a wry, apologetic smile as he started to lose feeling in his arm.

"Here we are!" Martinez sang out, stepping hard on the brake to powerslide the car into a parking spot.

Vogel said calmly, "While I appreciate the desire to keep this outing brief, I would have been content to get here less quickly."

"Says the man about to be stuck in a motel room in space for the next year," quipped Watney.

Beck carefully opened the door behind Johanssen's back and helped her to spin around in her long dress to exit the car as gracefully as possible. She ducked her head back into the car past him to look at her shoes in the trunk; Beck caught a whiff of light perfume and just a hint of hairspray. Johanssen decided against retrieving her heels and backed out of the car to hike up her skirt to clear the trailing hem.

"Need a lift?" Watney asked, appearing around the back. "Beck and I can do a pretty wicked fireman's lift."

"Or a seat lift, if you want to avoid being slung over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes," Beck added with a laugh.

Johanssen looked like she was going to protest when Watney said, "Great idea, let's go!" He grabbed Beck's wrists and Beck hastily latched on as Watney scooped their near arms under Johanssen's legs and caught her back against their other arms as she stumbled backwards. She gasped at how suddenly her feet were off the ground and sent a look at Commander Lewis. She, safe and comfortable in her loose, knee length evening dress and kitten heels, shrugged back at her and laughed. As Johanssen relaxed into their hold, Beck noticed a small tightening around the commander's eyes as Watney and he carried Johanssen up the curb and through the door held by Martinez. Johanssen giggled and waved at Vogel and the receptionist like a queen in a parade.

Lewis greeted the tattoo artists by name and quickly got down to helping Vogel pick out a font and location. Martinez and Watney looked through books of the artists' work, cracking jokes and discussing additions to their prospective tattoos.

"Ever gotten a tattoo before?" Beck asked Johanssen. She shook her head, starting to pale again. "Hey, you okay?"

She tried to nod, but failed. "I've, ah, just seen some things on YouTube, and I went with a friend to get hers... She screamed like they were murdering her and I... Have you ever gotten one?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully.

"No," he said. "Is it the safety or cleanliness you're worried about?" Beck asked. "This looks like a pretty organized place; I'm sure Lewis wouldn't take us anywhere that wasn't up to code."

Johanssen sighed. "No, I'm not worried about that. I've seen the commander's tattoos, they look fine and she didn't have any bad side effects..."

Watney's head bolted upright. "The commander has other tattoos? Where? What of? Oh come on, Johanssen, now you have to spill!"

She turned bright red and looked down at the edges of her sparkly dress pooling on the floor. Watney was about to press her further, but Beck shot him a look that plainly meant 'leave it', and Watney said instead, "So what are you worried about then?"

Beck looked at her and said slowly, "You're worried about it hurting?"

Watney was incredulous. "You've been flipped upside, spun through the air, been knocked about a model spaceship, and not turned a hair. All of that and not even an 'ouch' out of you, Johanssen. And now you're worried about a few needle pricks?" He wasn't being sarcastic or mean, Beck could tell, just in complete disbelief.

Overhearing this, Lewis walked over and said kindly, "It depends where you get it done, Beth. Some places, it's no more irritating than scraping your knee."

She nodded gratefully and went to join Vogel and the artists to look at fonts.

Lewis turned her gaze onto Beck, Watney, and Martinez. Beck was slightly worried by the severity in her eyes. "Alright, boys, listen up," she said grimly. Martinez and Watney looked up, startled. "We need to have a talk."

"Here?" Watney asked.

"Now," she said. "I'll discuss this with Vogel too, but he's not the one I'm worried about. I want to make it very, very clear," Lewis said firmly, "that there will be absolutely no harassment of Johanssen. No flirting, no hitting on her, no sexist comments, no inappropriate touching. Hell, if I thought it were possible I'd say no touching at all," she grumbled, almost to herself.

Martinez protested, "Why are you worried about me? I'm happily married!"

"You and Watney are too much in cahoots," she replied. Watney snickered at her choice of words, but did not contradict her. Fixing them all again with a steely glare, Lewis said with deadly calm, "If any of you try it, or make her uncomfortable in any way, shape, or form as a female, you will be off the mission. Full stop. No second chances." The men stared at her in consternation. Lewis smiled a sinister smile. "Not to mention incurring my personal wrath and retaliation. I mean it, gentlemen. I will not tolerate any of it and any evidence thereof will be met with the harshest of consequences, not the least of which will be castration. Johanssen is completely off limits. Don't forget it." Lewis inclined her head at them and walked back over to Johanssen and Vogel.

Watney was first to speak. "Well alright then. No need to tell me twice."

The others were heading back to the party. Beck and Johanssen were the last ones to get tattooed. Lewis asked Johanssen, "Do you want me to wait and hang out with you? You don't absolutely have to get this done, you know."

Johanssen said over Watney's protests, "I know. I want to. It didn't look quite so bad, watching you all go through it. Besides, I don't want you guys all to be here when I pass out."

Beck said, "I'll be here. I can resucitate her if needed, commander."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but Johanssen, unaware, said, "Yeah, that'd be good. Beck's got the best bedside manner, anyway."

Lewis nodded slowly, saying, "Well, if you're sure, Johanssen..." When Johanssen nodded once more, the commander shot one last glare at Beck to make sure she'd made her point and exited with Watney, Martinez, and Vogel, all nursing small spots of soreness under their tuxes with the new ink.

A remaining artist named Rick said, "Alright, last round. Want to do this at the same time, or separate?"

"I'm up for either," Beck said, looking around at the tired guys around them. "Johanssen?"

"We might as well do it one after the other," she said. "I might need you to hold my hand."

"Alright then," Rick said, looking at the rest of his people. "Thanks guys, you can clean up and head home. I'll get these two taken care of."

As the other artists packed up and Rick set up the machine and ink pots, Beck whispered, "Me or you first?"

"Me," she said quietly. "That way I can't chicken out. The others will never forgive me if I don't."

Beck nodded as she settled into the chair. "What'll it be, darlin'?" Rick asked.

"Just a basic black '15' in the typewriter font," Johanssen said.

"Where at, hun?" Rick prompted, pulling over the rolling table with the equipment on it.

"Left forearm," she said quietly. "Just above where my wrists hit my keyboard."

"Sounds good," he said, laying the stencil on her arm, rubbing it on, and then pulled it off, leaving the neat, simple characters on her skin. "Does the placement look good? Straight, even, where you wanted it?"

She nodded grimly. Beck took a step forward and gently put a hand on her shoulder as Rick propped her arm on a towel. Johanssen reached up and gripped his hand with her right one. He grinned and removed all but 2 fingers from her grip. "No breaking my hand now," he said lightly. "I'm going to need it."

"I'm glad you're here, anyway," she said, and closed her eyes.

 _A/N: As usual, thanks to warrior4 for his beta skills, even though he had very little to do with this latest chapter. This will probably be the longest chapter of the story, if that helps anyone. All rights belong to Andy Weir. Please review, and thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 3: Testing the Hypothesis

_Present_

Beck showered and shaved after his work out. Pulling a black sweatshirt over his head, he headed to the Rec. Beth was there, working at the computer station just inside the room. She was in her favorite gray hoodie, hood pulled close around her face. She was focused on the task in front of her, bright brown eyes sliding across the symbols on the screen. As he went to the counter to grab a cup of coffee, Beck thought about asking Beth if she wanted a cup...

He stopped short. He was thinking of her as Beth. In training their instructors had all referred to them by last name and, being military, Lewis and Martinez just did it out of habit. The rest of the crew had fallen into the pattern of last names as well, almost as a joke to start with but then it led to a sense of unity and camaraderie. Beck had already used this; in trying to convince Lewis to get back to the MAV, he'd changed 'Watney' to 'Mark' in order to shake the commander out of her focus. Whether the rest of the crew was aware of it or not, using first names meant something more now. And Beck was thinking of Johanssen as 'Beth'.

 _Houston - NASA Training Center_

"Alright, next up on the individual course, Group 4: Andrews, Hamilton, Johanssen, Stenson, Stivale, Watney." Instructor Sargeant Peterson motioned them forward to take their places. "Group 2, on deck: Beck, Lewis, Martinez, Ostram, Vogel, Yunger."

Beck nodded to himself and bounced up and down on his toes a few times to stay loose. They were nearing the end of the physical training evaluations and there had been a noticeable change from individual challenges to group challenges, solving physical problems as a team. The remaining candidates knew they were being considered for the Aries missions: crews of six to land on Mars. This was the first step in testing out potential crew dynamics and even getting a rough idea of crew rosters. That was intimidating as the last 2 weeks the group rosters were changed less and less frequently.

Group 2 was good, Beck knew. They'd been consistent in challenges and solid in partnership, but there was something lacking. They were almost too serious, too focused. It sounded strange but the result was the development of group tunnel vision. Even Martinez had settled down and stopped cracking jokes. Beck missed that.

"Group 2, on the line!"

Beck chuckled as he saw Mark Watney of Group 4 finish second to last at the nearby end of the horseshoe-shaped obstacle course, crossing the line with a cartwheel.

"Go!"

He jogged towards the first obstacle, a series of balancing logs, letting the more competitive Commander Lewis and Major Martinez go ahead of him. He struggled some in the middle of the zig-zagging logs, throwing his arms wide to stabilize himself. Beck broke into a full run off the end, building up speed to make a long leap over the shallow ditch that was the next obstacle. Alex was right ahead of him into the low ropes obstacle, flinging himself underneath just as Beck reached them and got onto his hands and knees.

"Don't be a pansy, Beck, get in there!" Sargeant Peterson hollered at him from the sidelines.

He was right. The ropes were too low for quadruped; he had to go fully face down and creep. Beck heard Ostram behind him and it set a fire under him. He'd come in last the past few individual courses and Beck would be damned if he was eliminated from the astronaut training program due to poor physical training scores. He dug his elbows into the ground and pulled hard. He was NOT losing this one.

Exiting the low ropes, Beck got his feet under him fast and sprinted to the island hopper: a stretch of log stumps in a random pattern. He jumped up onto the first one and picked the most direct path through, stretching his legs and using his height to cover the larger gaps to make up some time.

His breathing was ragged as he ran up to the next tower and started to climb. He scaled it easily, but slowed to carefully get his arms and legs in position preparing to climb down the angled rope on the other side. Beck started to work his way down, cautious of rope burns. He heard the instructor at the bottom of the rope. "Beck! Ostram's right on your tail, move your ass!" Beck shook his head ruefully and sped up, ignoring the sting in his palms.

He gleefully worked his way through the log vaults 3 feet off the ground, levering with his arms and bouncing over each in turn. Last was the staggered tires, Beck could see the finish line, Vogel just crossing. He picked up his feet, going as fast as he could while keeping his feet clear. Beck dashed across the line and approached the sargeant to accept his feedback. "Keep your eye on the goal, Beck," he said. "Details and big picture at the same time. Good work."

Beck nodded and went to the bench to grab his water bottle. Beck good-naturedly elbowed Watney out of the way as he passed. "Nice finish on that last run, Mark." He'd known Mark since medical school at MSU. He'd been in Chicago for a conference and they'd found themselves in the same seminar on the effects of zero gravity on metabolism. Beck remembered meeting up in a bar to continue talking and he remembered Mark saying he'd show Beck the highlights of Chicago, but not a lot else.

"Not bad yourself, Chris," Watney replied. "Nice save on the tires though."

Beck asked, "What are you talking about? Those tires were clean as a whistle."

"The hell they were. I saw you nearly faceplant coming out of the second to last one!" Watney retorted.

Martinez chimed in from the other side of Beck, "Totally. I really thought you were going to be eating dirt that time."

"That's really more Watney's department," Beck said with a grin.

"Ouch! Dude, not cool," Watney said, mock-angry. "Don't you need to go check if Ostram is still breathing or something?"

"Shouldn't be too hard," Martinez added, "even for a doctor who hasn't seen a patient in the last 5 years."

"How long has it been since you were in a plane, Martinez? Sure those landing-on-a-dime skills aren't getting rusty?" Beck said, grinning.

"Oy! Martinez, Watney, Beck, break it up! Back in line!" The lead instructor was glaring at them.

"Shape up, Major Martinez," Commander Lewis said, jogging past.

"Commander," the instructor with a clipboard said respectfully as she took her place at the head of Group 2. "Major," he added as Martinez found his spot.

"Right Commander," Martinez said. "Hey Commander? All due respect, but could we pick one or the other? 'Major Martinez' sounds like a bad Sunday-morning comic strip character."

Commander Lewis rolled her eyes but didn't have a chance to respond as the instructor shouted for quiet. "All right, final group rosters for next week. From Group 1: Tennant switch to Group 5, Hendley to Group 3. From Group 2: Ostram to Group 4, Yunger to Group 5. From Group 3, Magnus to Group 1, Sikkema to Group 3. From Group 4: Johanssen to Group 2, Watney to Group 2. From Group 5: Peters to Group 1, VanLander to Group 4. Switch it up!"

Watney grinned as he threw an arm around a petite woman from his group and led her over to the remaining Group 2 members. "Excellent! Guys, this is Beth Johanssen. She's pretty quick on her feet."

Commander Lewis nodded, smiling. "Welcome to Group 2. We needed another woman on this team. That's Chris Beck, Alex Vogel, Air Force Major Rick Martinez, and I'm Navy Lieutenant Commander Melissa Lewis."

"Beth Johanssen," the young lady said.

"And of course this character is Mark Watney," Martinez said.

"The one and only," he said, laughing.

The instructors finished conferring, and the lead instructor stepped forward as the rest hurried to rearrange some of the equipment. "Alright candidates, last course of the day, just to get used to your new groups. Team obstacle course, win or lose together. Let's see what you can do right out of the gate. Group 1, on the line!"

Beck groaned inwardly. This last obstacle course was going to be a killer.

As Group 1 finished and received feedback, Group 2 lined up to start. Mark winked at Beck and jerked his chin at Beth Johanssen, grinning. She was leaning forward into the start, eyes intensely focused on the first obstacle. Beck was concerned for a moment until she jabbed out and whacked Mark in the arm without losing her gaze. "Quit laughing at me, Watney," she said with a small smile.

The gun went off and they were all running. Coming to a 10 foot wall, Beck ignored his sore arms and offered his cupped hands to Watney. Watney shot him a grateful look and put his foot on Beck's hands. He vaulted up, grabbed the top of the wall, and hauled himself over. Beck did the same for Martinez and looked around. Johanssen was the last one besides him. "Come on, I've got you!" he yelled as their teammates called to them from the top. She looked about to protest but changed her mind in an instant and let him throw her up to the waiting hands of Vogel. Beck took a few steps back and ran at the wall, grabbing for Mark and Lewis' hands, pulling him up and over. They shimmied down the ropes on the other side, rough rope burning Beck's already-red hands.

Forward the team charged, helping each other overcome anything in their path.

Last obstacle was a cargo net climb and Beck was gasping for air. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Beth Johanssen clamber up the net like it was nothing. Alex Vogel was next to him, panting just as hard. They wearily grabbed for the first few rungs and starting pulling themselves upward.

The fast few at the top were calling out encouragement to them. "Chris, come on, move it! We're so close!"

Beck could hardly hear his teammates, he was focusing so hard on just keeping his legs and arms moving, fighting the twisting and turning net under him. He was slowing down, he could feel it. Out of the pounding of blood in his ears and over his own ragged breathing, he heard, "BECK! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE! THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH, BECK!"

Another voice: "VOGEL! PICK IT UP! MOVE YOUR FEET!"

That got him going enough to pull it together and cover the last five feet of net in a hurry. As Beck collapsed on the platform at the top, he felt Vogel come up next to him and kneel, sucking in air as fast as he was.

Watney came over and patted his head. "Great job, Beck. Not bad."

Beck grinned, recognizing his would-be drill instructor. "Not bad yourself, Watney. You were right," he said, resting his head back. "Johanssen is fast."

"Outran both of you," Commander Lewis said happily. "Come on Martinez, help me get these jokers back on the ground."

Taking Martinez' outstretched hand, Beck rose on shaky knees. He was glad for the arm Watney placed under his and around his trunk and was surprised when tiny Johanssen came around his other side to help. "Don't worry," she said, smiling up at him. "We've got you."

 _A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know, I missed a week. Get over it, all you weird people who have followed this :) This was a bit of a rougher chapter, I wasn't sure I even wanted to try to expound on this bit of their interaction. But my wonderful beta reader warrior4 encouraged me to try and helped me flesh it out a bit more when ideas were flagging. Thanks, dude! Anyway, I hope you all like it, and please review!_


	5. Chapter 4: Analyze the Data

_Present_

Beck finished his work for the day in the lab, made a few last notes on the computer, and shut it down for the 'night'. He paused to grab his personal tablet from his room and floated down into the Rec. It had the nicest seats by far when you wanted out of your room.

Beth was there already, as he'd known she would be. The wide windows and relative quiet made it a good space to read. Beck realized it had become a habit, coming down in their hour or so of free time in between the end of daily tasks and dinner. Beth was already figuratively nose deep in a book. He settled quietly into a chair so as not to disturb her. He pulled up an article he was peer reading for a colleague, but Beck couldn't seem to focus on the terms and concepts today. His eyes kept wandering over to Beth, snuggled into her chair, hoodie still pulled in close.

He hadn't realized how engaged she became with her books, probably because he tended to be thoroughly wrapped up in his own reading. Beck relaxed back into his seat and inobtrusively observed. She was clearly reading something funny. Every few minutes she would giggle to herself, a carefree bubbling deep in her chest. Another few minutes and she bit back outright laughter.

Beck couldn't help himself. He asked, "What's so funny?"

Without looking up from her tablet, she said, "British humor."

"Okay," he said with a smile and went back to observing.

She fully entered into the world of the story, living with it as events occurred. She frowned with concentration there, eyes widening with astonishment there, shaking her head with disbelief. In being lost in her book, Beth allowed all her emotions to be out in the open: completely vulnerable and fully present in the moment. She looked incomparably beautiful in that moment and Beck felt himself utterly lost.

Damn it, Watney had been right.


	6. Chapter 5: Draw Conclusions

Beck had not yet decided what to do about his newly-discovered feelings about Beth when the anonymous, coded email came in. He watched Commander Lewis' expression lift as she realized there was a way to correct what she saw as her inexcusable mistake. He could only imagine they were all similarly elated. He tried not to look at Beth's enormous grin spreading across her face.

They gathered at the table to discuss the Rich Purnell maneuver. Beck already knew what his vote would be. Lewis finished her analysis of the situation with the addition of five hundred and thirty-three days of space travel to their trip and the fact that they would never be allowed to return.

This gave Beck a momentary pause. Space was what he had dreamed of for years and years, ever since he was small. He saw the deep, star-specked blackness out of his peripheral vision. For months now he had lived with the quiet and majesty of space as a close next-door-neighbor. The idea of never coming back was daunting.

But then he thought of Watney, his boyish face and stupid jokes. Beck's friend, alone and abandoned. The rescue mission would be almost 2 full years of space travel and Beck reminded himself that he was insanely lucky to have been able to travel in space at all. His life up to this point would have been so much less without his dreams of space, and his life from this point onward would be so much less without Watney in it. His decision was made.

"Great," he said, in response to the commander's last point. Beck leaned into the table. "I'm in."

He watched Beth's face anxiously. She was the deciding vote. She slowly turned to Lewis and said, "If you think it'll work. I trust you."

Beck continued to watch Beth's face as Commander Lewis started running through the scenario to enact the Rich Purnell maneuver. She was intent on the conversation, following it closely with bright, focused eyes. He could practically hear the cogs turning in her head as she worked through the necessary steps needed to override the programming and safety features. He was reminded that this was a brilliant young woman, the top of her profession and with the added benefits of adaptability and cool under pressure. She would not have made it onto the crew if she had been otherwise.

Lewis finally said, "You're sure? You can turn it off?"

"Shouldn't be hard," she said. "It's an emergency feature, not a security program. It isn't protected against malicious code."

"Malicious code?" Beck asked with a grin. "So...you'll be a hacker?" Brains and criminal intent, a terrible, fantastic combination.

She smiled at him, his heart warming. "Yeah. I guess I will."

 _A/N: Sorry about the non-existent posting schedule, all. This is also the official end of the flashback chapters as I ran out of scenarios that informed current events. Anyway, many thanks to beta-reader warrior4 as always._


	7. Chapter 6: Results Align with Hypothesis

As they prepared for the slingshot around Earth, Martinez met Beck in the gym and told him quietly to meet in the Rec after lights out. Laughing to himself about the cloak-and-dagger secrecy of the midnight meeting, Beck made his way as silently as possible out of his quarters and along the ship to the Rec. He was surprised to see Lewis and Vogel there as well as Martinez.

"What's up?" He asked, his voice soundly loud in the stillness. "If this was going to be a team meeting anyway, why all the..."

"Lower your voice!" Lewis commanded in a sharp whisper. "This is not an all team meeting."

Beck looked around again. Ah. No Beth. Interesting. He nodded at the commander to continue.

"As you know, gentlemen," she began again in a low voice, "there is a rather large possibility that we won't make it through this. You were informed of this when we voted on this course of action." The three men nodded in agreement, Martinez shooting Lewis a dirty look, like he was angry she would even suggest he might change his mind. "We are committed, but part of our job has always been to prepare for the unexpected and worst possible scenarios. On that knowledge, we need to consider the possibility of a mistake with the _Taiyang Shen_ and not being resupplied."

Beck looked at Vogel and Martinez. They had clearly not considered this scenario either. "There are a lot of things that could go wrong," he started cautiously, "do we really need to...?"

"Yes." Lewis cut him off. "I've been running the numbers. If we aren't resupplied, there are almost enough supplies to see one crewmember through the journey to Mars and back."

"Only one?" Vogel asked.

"What do you mean, 'almost enough supplies'?" Martinez wanted to know.

"It's a 17 month journey to Mars and back," Lewis said calmly. "We have enough stored for 6 months of provisions for one person, 9 with reduced rations."

"11 months short," Martinez said.

"Your math is correct, Major Obvious," she said with a small smile.

Beck said quietly, thinking he could see where this was going, "One person."

She smiled at him sadly. "Yes."

Ignoring Vogel and Martinez's looks, he continued, "And the food would stretch further with a lower metabolic requirement..."

Vogel added, "And the requisite skills to make any adjustments necessary to ensure ship function, course corrections, anything else that may go wrong."

"Correct."

Barely aware of his own thought process, Beck brought it home. "B-, Johanssen. You're planning on having her survive."

Lewis nodded at him. "She's the youngest, smallest, and most trained in terms of _Hermes_ functions." She took a deep breath. "As this is also an off-the-books planning meeting and a decision that affects the entire crew, I cannot make this decision unilaterally. Like this whole crazy maneuver, it must be unanimous. Please do not hesitate to make your thoughts known. If you have any objections or concerns, please state them now."

Vogel spoke first. "I agree, this plan makes the most logical sense, with the greatest chance of success. But she will still be 11 months without food."

"There would be enough," Lewis said quietly.

Beck was keeping up with her. "My medical kit."

"Oh my God," Martinez started.

Lewis interrupted him. "Don't start. This is still only hypothetical. We can work out...details... as they become necessary."

Just like the decision to get Watney, Beck's mind was clear. "I agree with this plan," he said simply, without hesitation. "Johanssen lives." She had to.

Vogel said again, slowly, "It makes the most logical sense." Knowing Vogel as Beck did, this was assent.

Lewis looked at Martinez. "Your call then, Martinez."

He shrugged. "I'm praying hard it'll go the other way, but...yes. I agree. It's her best shot."

Lewis breathed a long, slow sigh of relief. "Thank you, gentleman. I truly appreciate the honesty and the sacrifice."

Beck added, "Not that it will become necessary."

Martinez said, "That's the idea."

Drifting back up the ship towards his room, Beck considered the decisions he had made. He smiled ruefully, realizing he was no more self-sacrificial than Martinez or Vogel in deciding to put Beth first. He shouldn't start to feel all noble, willing to give it all for the one he loved. Beck had only himself to put on the line; Vogel and Martinez put the fate and lives of their families in jeopardy in agreeing to the plan.

Still, the talk was sobering. So much could go wrong with this plan: not intercepting the _Taiyang Shen_ properly, equipment failure, ship failure, miscalculated orbits... Maybe he should wait to tell Beth, let her stay focused on the job at hand, until they got back to Earth.

Beck sighed. It would be the first thing that Watney asked him though, when he finally got off that godforsaken red rock and back to the _Hermes_. He would crack a joke about being back among humans and then he would ask if Beck had told Johanssen yet. Dammit, he could not go back to Mars and face Watney without telling Beth he loved her. If he didn't, Watney would probably tell her anyway, in the worst way possible. No, Beck had to choose his own time and his own way. Tall order for a man who'd never been in love before.

But Lewis would also have to tell Beth about the plan to bring her home above all else and at all costs. What a burden that would be...no, it would have to be after. If there was any chance at all that she reciprocated his feelings, those feelings would infinitely complicate her ability to do what needed to be done to survive. Yes, after the intercept with the _Taiyang Shen_ would be best.

The _Taiyang Shen_ was 30 minutes away from launch and they would have 40 minutes to intercept. Beck was already partially suited up, waiting for the EVA to guide it in as needed. This would be the moment of truth, their first of probably many situations that walked the knife's edge between success and utter catastrophe.

"Hey, you awake?"

Beck started as the soft voice jogged him out of his depressing thoughts. Beth was floating there, hand on the wall to steady herself. He shook his head to clear it and said, "Oh, sure. Just..."

She hesitated for a moment before reaching out and touching his shoulder. "One step at a time, Beck. Work one problem at a time and we'll get through." She paused and said, "I also wanted to say...thank you."

Beck frowned, "Beth..."

She shook his shoulder. "No, listen to me. I have to thank you for...err..."

"Choosing you?"

"Yes, that," she said gratefully. "I think it helped my dad somewhat to know..."

"You told him?" Beck said, aghast.

She nodded, taking her hand from his shoulder and Beck found he missed the weight of it. "He kind of forced me to. Anyway, thanks, I guess."

He nodded slowly in acknowledgement. "One problem at a time. We'll get through this, you just watch."

Beth smiled. "Go bring home dinner, Beck."

"Will do, ma'am," he said with a laugh as she floated backwards down the passageway.

Sixty minutes later he was floating in entrance to the airlock, watching the _Taiyang Shen_ gently drift towards him. Another movement caught his eye and he saw Beth climbing down the ladder in the gym area as it circled towards him. She was bundled up in a gray NASA sweatshirt, hood pulled tight around her face. She approached the glass window and put her hand up on it, watching him. Without thinking, he waved at her. As she started to turn upside down with the rotation of the ship, he turned back to the approaching probe, feeling the blush creep over his face.

What the hell was that? Waving at her like a six-year-old...ugh, this was intolerable. He pushed her out of his mind and returned his attention to the probe. Martinez had it lined up perfectly and the payload was coming straight towards him. He drifted backward as it got nearer and nearer until it made contact and he heard the locking mechanism clunk into place.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he keyed in the command to pressurize the airlock and went to open the capsule. The supplies were here safely and so the contingency plan was now irrelevant, thank God. He pulled off his helmet and gloves as Vogel opened the airlock door and moved to help him start unloading the supplies.

He had no further excuses now, Beck knew. He'd have to address Beth soon and put all of this to rest, one way or the other.

 _A/N: This chapter was kind of unexpected; I did not think I was going to write about this when I planned out this story. Anyway, here it is. We are wrapping up, as you can probably tell. Many thanks to my faithful beta reader warrior4 and thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this story._


	8. Chapter 7: Communicate the Results I

He didn't want anyone barging into the conversation he needed to have with Beth. Beck waited until the last 15 minutes of their designated personal time. He wanted them both to have an out if things turned awkward and either of them leaving just before the designated time shouldn't be enough to alert the commander than anything was different.

Beth seemed particularly engrossed today. "What are you reading?" he asked quietly.

She started a little but didn't look up. "Tolkien."

That was a good sign. She'd read it before and hopefully wouldn't mind being interrupted. "Beth," he said softly.

This time she looked up, truly startled as her brown eyes met his. "Oh dear. This must be serious."

He leaned back in his chair, feigning a calm he didn't feel. "I suppose it is."

With a glint in her eye Beth settled back into her chair to mirror him. "I suppose you had better get on with it then. Something show up in my physical last week?" she asked.

"No, no, you're healthy as a horse," he said, trying to smile. She just stared at him, impassive.

Beck took a deep breath and said, looking straight into her eyes, "I love you."

Across from him, her face did not change. She exhaled a long breath, and then she smiled. She leaned forward in her chair and took both his hands in her small pale ones. She brought his hands up to her mouth and kissed them gently. She looked over the top of their joined hands and said, "Good." Blushing, she raised their hands to her forehead, covering her face. "Finally," came out rather muffled. Lowering her hands to cup her chin in Beck's hands, she smiled at him again and said, "I'm glad you said something; that took guts."

Twisting her hand to the side, still folded into his, she checked her watch. Beth squeezed his hand and then let go in order to pick up her iPad again and resume reading.

Beck looked at her, a little perturbed. "That's it?"

Not looking up again, Beth said, "Well, yes. You left it a little late, you know. We get mission updates in fifteen, the others will start coming in soon, so I might as well finish my chapter. It's the last morning of the battle of Helm's Deep. Gandalf, to the rescue!"

Beck was about to protest when Martinez came sliding feet first into the room. He quickly shifted away from Beth, picking up his own iPad. "Hey guys," Martinez called, "I'm going to make a cup of coffee, do you want anything?"

Not looking up from her book, Beth said, "Please. Black would be great."

"Will do. Beck?"

He shook his head, trying to clear the faint buzzing from his ears, completely baffled. "I'm good, I guess."

 _A/N: I finally saw the extras shot for the movie version of "Martian", and I was thrilled by how realistic they were. It also informed/backed up my interpretation of Johanssen as a badass, edgy, and not-outwardly-romantic kind of person, which is fine by me. Anyway, here is the pivotal moment in the whole drama, and I hope you enjoyed it. There is still more to follow, of course. Thanks as always to my faithful beta reader warrior4 who, romantic and sappy soul that he is (just read "Winters Flowers" or "The Blossom"), was horrified at my treatment of this scene in the initial write up. Just to spite him, it is mostly unchanged :)_

 _I might as well take this opportunity as well to thank everyone who has favorite-d, followed, and most of all REVIEWED this story. You are all very sweet and the knowledge that I have dedicated readers makes me strive that much harder to make this writing the best it can be. You are all greatly appreciated. Cheers!_


	9. Chapter 8: Communicate the Results II

Beck lay in his bunk that night staring into the blackness, listening to the hum of the machinery throughout the ship and Vogel snoring softly on the other side of the partition. Usually he fell asleep easily, lulled by the subtle rotation sensation of the ship. This night he could not fall asleep. What the hell had happened that afternoon? The conversation had gone nothing like what he had thought...

Soft as it was, the sound of his door opening caused him to sit bolt upright, nearly cracking his head on the storage compartments above his bunk.

"Easy!" Beth said quietly, easing over to the bunk and placing her hand on his head. "You don't need to give yourself a concussion just because NASA doesn't put locks on the doors."

Beck said grumpily, "This is a gross invasion of privacy, you know."

He could feel her eyes roll. "Get over it, dude. Shove over." Beck heard the crack and pop as she bent a glow stick and in the dim lime-green light saw her gesture towards the head of his bed. He sighed and sat up, pulling his legs up as she climbed onto the foot of his bunk and crossed her legs, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. She stared at him in silence. Beck was not going to help her out with this one. He had said his piece and now it was her turn. He rested his back against the bulkhead and folded his arms. She sighed. "You can be a real dick, you know that?"

Beck continued to look at her blankly. Beth sighed, and began to speak. "Look, Chris," Beck's heart leapt involuntarily, "I'm very glad you came to feel this way, however long it took." Beck scowled at her. Beth just laughed, "Oh goodness, stop looking like someone stepped on your dog." She dropped her voice, "We've clearly both been burying some deeply held feelings. Not my fault it took you so much longer to figure out what you felt." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I guess it was pretty brave of you to tell me at all, what with Lewis' threats and all."

He shuddered. "Told you about that, did she?"

Beth shook her head. "She didn't have to."

"Anyway, getting back to the matter at hand..." Beck prompted.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked.

"I told you I love you," he said simply, annoyed. "Some sort of answer as to your feelings on the matter might be nice."

She frowned at him. "Do I need to spell it out for you? Fine. I. L. O. V. E. Y. O. U. How about sign language?" She flashed a hand gesture, palm out, with her third and fourth fingers curled into he palm, the rest straight out. "How about Spanish? We could get Martinez in here to translate. God, this is why I stick to computers, they're so much easier to communicate with..."

Beck started to laugh, whole body shaking as he tried to keep it quiet. "Nice job, Beth," he said. "That was probably the meanest possible way to tell someone you love them."

"You," she said with a scowl, "are irritating at this time of night."

"And you," he said, smiling, "are beautiful."

She glanced down at her clothes then back up at him, puzzled. "Beautiful all swaddled in a hoodie and sweatpants?"

"Beth, you would be beautiful in anything," Beck said, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

A slow smile crept across Beth's face. She reached forward to take his hands like she had that afternoon. "Who knew that Stonewall Beck had a soft side?" she said quietly.

"As you said," Beck said, pulling her closer, "it just took me a while to find it."

"Then I'm glad you found it with me," Beth said, closing the distance to brush his lips with hers, soft as starlight.

 _A/N: Well, there we are :) We're not quite done, because Watney has yet to be rescued and told of the developments. All thanks to beta reader warrior4 who finally approved of this. Thanks all for reading!_


	10. Chapter 9: New Questions Arise

Mark was back on board and the whole crew could feel the difference. Everything felt lighter, every problem more solvable, every room less empty. Beck noticed that the five crewmates found more reasons and ways to work in the same room as Watney, spending more time together as a unit.

Beck had to shoo Martinez and Vogel out of the med bay for Watney's daily check up. The doctors of NASA were paranoid that they went through all that trouble to keep Watney from dying on Mars only to lose him to famine, disease, or injury in space. Beck was torn between amusement and irritation. He mentioned it to Watney. "You know how you got all pissy because they were trying to micromanage your crops?" he asked. Watney nodded. "Same deal. I am in fact a qualified doctor..."

"A space doctor, even." Watney interjected.

Beck agreed. "With the added bonus of being a space-trained and experienced doctor, and they want to tell me how to take vitals and put Band-aids on you."

Watney nodded sagely. "At least I had a good excuse for telling them all to fuck off. You have no such luxury. And you're probably too polite," he added as an afterthought.

"Probably. Unfortunately. Here, lift up your arm so I can restrap your ribs," Beck said. "They're healing about as well as you could expect."

"Uh huh. So..." Watney said, "When do I get out of this box and back to my bunk?"

"You don't," said Beck absentmindedly, focusing on keeping the wrap tight and even. He was forced to stop as Watney turned to glare at him.

"What do you mean I don't? I was stuck on Mars for over a year, trapped in a rover with rags for a bed dreaming of my bunk on the Hermes, and you're telling me I'm stuck on this cot for the rest of the trip?"

"Yes."

"Well what the hell, man?"

Beck smiled, pushed him back to facing forward, and resumed wrapping. "You know, you won't be able to use the excuse of 'I was stuck on Mars' as an excuse forever, Watney."

Watney rested his interlocked hands around the back of his neck, smugly saying, "Oh sure I will. It's the best guilt-trip card possible."

"The world spent millions of dollars to get your sorry ass off Mars and save you from dying a horrible lonely death," Beck said with a smile. "I don't think the world owes you much of anything anymore."

"Way to be a buzzkill," Watney said, dropping his arms. "Seriously though, I'm feeling better, I don't need to stay under constant supervision."

"Tell that to the NASA bigwigs and the Surgeon General," Beck grumbled. "In all seriousness though, there's a problem with regulating temperatures in your's and Martinez's bunk area and he's not been able to sleep there for the last few months anyway. This is probably the most comfortable place for you." He added, "If you like, we can get the baby his pillow and fuzzy blanket so he doesn't feel so homesick and cry for mama."

"Funny," Watney growled. "Then where is Martinez sleeping?"

"Err..."

The shit-eating grin that spread over Watney's face was a thing to behold. "Does this have something to do with the email I sent you on Mars?" Beck felt his face turn bright red. "Oh ho, it is! Come on, what happened? Details!"

"I told her I love her, she loves me back, we're good," he said feebly.

Watney burst out laughing, bracing his ribs with his arm. "And now you're bunking together so Martinez can have your room? Oh that's awesome. NASA's going to go freaking insane!"

"They're not going to find out."

"The hell they're not! That is priceless." Watney's face sobered. "Seriously though, how are things going?"

Beck grinned. "About as well as can be expected in translating a job-oriented friendship into a relationship."

Watney grinned back at him. "How's the sex?"

Beck got up and walked towards the door, still smiling. "Like I would ever tell you anything about it."

He exited and the door closed behind him. Watney watched as he walked away, unaware as Johanssen came up behind him to the viewport in the door. She flashed him a wink and gave him a thumbs up before moving on. Watney laughed, grimaced at the pain in his ribs, and settled into his pillow for a nap.

* * *

 _Epilogue_

"Chris! Get in here, they're about to launch!"

Drying off his hands quickly, Beck jogged back into the room where his wife sat on the hospital bed. He sat down next to her, dropping a kiss onto their brand-new baby daughter's head while keeping his eyes on the screen. He wrapped an arm around Beth's shoulders as the countdown for the Aries V launch began. They both watched as the smoke billowed out from under the rocket and then the fire as it began to lift off the pad. Beck remembered his own feelings of terror and elation, feeling ship leave the ground and the g forces start to increase. It had been an incredible adventure from start to finish.

He and Beth watched in silence as the camera followed the shuttle until the white trail of smoke ended into the clear blue sky. Beth looked up at him as the program changed to some mundane, Earth-bound news event. "Breathe, honey," she said with a laugh.

Beck let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He smiled back at her, and down at the small human wrapped in a pink blanket in her arms.

Beth looked down at her too. "Any regrets?" She asked softly.

He looked down at the little family that had stolen his heart, unexpectedly found among the stars thanks to Mark Watney. "None whatsoever."

 _A/N: And there we are, folks. This was the first chapter to make warrior4 actually laugh out loud, so I'm feeling pretty accomplished. Thank you all very much for your readership, comments, and patience. I have more thoughts on the world of "The Martian", but have not yet decided if they'll be added to this story or be something new. Either way, I'm glad you all enjoyed this work and am looking forward to being able to read more of yours. Cheers! H._


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